Hinge connection.



. tions.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK MERRILL TIBBOTT AND ERIC LEMANDER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS TO EMERSON PIANO COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPO- RATION OF ILLINOIS.

HINGE CONNECTION.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, F REDERIOK M. TIB- BOTT and E310 LEMANDER, citizens of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hinge Connections; and we do hereby declare the following-to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which shows one form or embodiment of the in vention, selected by us for the purpose of illustrating the same, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple, strong, and durable hinge connec* tion so constructed that the members of the hinge may be disengaged and the hinged parts separated by hand manipulation when desired without the use of tools, and our invention also contemplates the provision in connection with one member of the hinge of a yielding retaining arm provided with looking grooves or recesses for engaging a fixed locking stud for the purpose of maintaining the hinged part supported by the hinge construction in one or more posi- The invention is found to be extremely advantageous for the purpose of hinging or pivotally supporting the front panel or other panels of a piano case in the frame thereof, but we do not desire to be limited to its use in this connection, as it may be used in other ways.

In the accompanying drawings, we have for convenience of illustration, shown'the invention applied to a hinged panel form ing part of a piano case.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a rearoor interior View of a swinging panel and the casing surrounding the same, showing our improved hinges applied thereto, for the purpose of pivotally supporting the panel inthe frame. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view" on line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows and drawn to a slightly enlarged Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 18, 1913.

Patented Sept. 29, 1514.

Serial No. 807,524.

scale. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View of the hinge connectionwithout the retaining arm shown in the other figures.

In the accompanying drawings 1 represents a frame or casing which may form part of a piano case or any other desired structure, and 2 represents a panel fitting in the aperture in the casing l which it is desired to support pivotally therein to permit it to be swung to different positions about its pivotal axis. Our improved hinge connection comprises a pintle 3 a hinge member 4: and a locking member 5 which are entirely unconnected and are independently secured to the part to which they are to be connected. In this instance the pintle 3 is secured to the casing 1 preferably by providing it with a screw threaded portion 6 atone end and a notch 7 at the other end to receive the bit of an ordinary screw driver. The hinge member and the locking member are each provided with a bearing portion for engaging the pintle and extending not more than. halfway around the same, said bearing portions being indicated at 8 and 9 respectively, and the plate portions or main bodies of the hinge member and locking member extend on opposite sides of the pintle as shown, and lie preferably in the same plane but out of alinement with each other so that the bearing portions .8 and 9 engagethe pintle at different points longitudinally thereof. One of the said members is movably supported so that the bearing portion thereof may be moved in a direction longitudinally of the pintle to disengage the same. We prefer to secure the hinge member 4 rigidly to the inner face of the panel by means of screws 10 and 11 as shown, and to secure the locking member 5 to the inner face of the panel by means of a pivotal connection having its axis perpendicular to the locking member. In this instance, the hinge member 5 is provided with a single screw hole substantially centrally of its length, which is engaged by a screw 12 which in conjunction with said aperture forms a pivotal connection. The outer end of the locking member 5 is preferably twisted or bent perpendicular to the main plate portion thereof to form a finger piece or handle 13 by means of which the locking member 5 can be readily swung laterally on its pivotal connection so as to move the bearing portion 9 thereof in a direction substantially longitudinally of the pintle 3 into and out of engagement with the pintle. In order to facilitate this movement without binding, we prefer to have the end of the pintle 3 located in substantial alinementlongitudinally of the locking member 5 with the axis of the pivotal connection thereof, as shown in the drawing.

The lower end of the hinge member 4 is preferably provided with an inwardly extending retaining arm 14 which is preferably of resilient material and may be made integral with the hinge member, although this is not essential. The resilient arm 14 is provided with one or more transverse grooves or recesses, two of which are shown at 1516, for engaging a stationary locking stud .17, secured to the casing 1 and preferably located in such position that when the panel is in closed position as shown in Fig. 2, the locking recess 16 will be in engagement with the stud '17. The retaining arm 14 engages the side of the locking stud 17 corresponding to the side of the pintle '3 which is engaged by the bearing 8 of the hinge member 4. While we have only described one of these hinge connections, it is obvious that two of the same will be employed on opposite ends of the panel 2, or analogous device, which is to be pivotally mounted, and we have shown the hinge connection in Fig. 1 at opposite ends of the panel. It is not necessary to provide the resilient retaining arm 14 at each side of the panel, although it is preferable and the parts are so shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3 we have shown the hinge member lreduced in length and not provided with the retaining arm 14, and this construction can be used with another construction exactly like it or with an oppositely arranged hinge connection in which the hinge member t is provided with the retaining arm 14, as shown in Fig. 2, if desired. In

assembling the parts which are to be pivotally connected, it will be understood that the locking members 5 of the hinge connections are moved laterally, in this case, on their pivotal connections, so as to be out of line with the inner ends of the pintle 3 and the panel or other device 2 is held in an in clined position,-is passed into the aperture in the casing 1, and the bearing portions 88 of the hinge members 4-4. are made to engage the upper sides of the respective pintles. At the same time the retaining arm, or arms 14: is or are allowed to descend upon the locking stud or studs 17. The locking members 5 are then swung or moved back into position by means of the finger pieces 13 or otherwise, so as to cause their hearing portions 9 to engage the pintles on the sides thereof opposite the bearing'portions 8, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and in Fig. 3, when the hinge members will be firmly locked to the pintles while permitting the free swinging movement thereon on the pintles. Where the retaining arm or arms 14 is or are employed, it will be obvious that when the panel is moved into closed position, as shown in Fig. 2, in full lines, the locking stud 17 will engage the recess 16 of the retaining arm 14 and hold the panel in closed position. The panel can be swung outwardly, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 so as to bring the retaining or locking groove or recess15 into engagement with the locking stud 17 when the panel will be firmly held in its adjusted position. To again remove the panel from the frame, it is only necessary to move the locking members 5 out of engagement with the pintles 3 and to swing the panel to such position that it can be moved vertically, thereby disengaging the bearing portions of the hinge members 4 from the pintles and simultaneously disengaging the retaining arms 14: from the locking studs 17 when the panel can be withdrawn from the aperture in the casing.

- This form of hinge as before stated can be advantageously employed'in connection with hinged panels in piano cases and the like, and will also be found convenient for use in pivotally supporting transoms and other frames to facilitate the removal of the same from their casings or framesfor cleaning or other purposes.-

It will be observed that even after the locking members 5 have been moved laterally to disengage them from the pintle, the panel or other device to which the hinge members are connected, will remain firmly supported by the bearing portions 8 of the hlnge members 1 so that there is no danger of the panel falling and becoming injured while it may readily be removed from engagement with the pintles and withdrawn from the aperture in the casing, as previously described.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A hinge connection comprising a pintle to be secured to one of the parts to be connected, and a hinge member'and a separate locking member, to be independently secured to the other part,'said members havmg plate portions disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the pintle, and extending on opposite sides thereof,

said plate portions being each provided at connected, and a hinge member and a separate locking member to be independently secured t0 the other part, said members having plate portions disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the pintle, and extending on opposite sides thereof, said plate portions being each provided at one end with a bearing portion for engaging the pintle on one side only thereof, said locking member being provided with means for pivotally mounting it in an axis perpendicu lar to its plate portion, whereby said locking member can be swung laterally, longitudinally of the pintle, into and out of engagement therewith.

3. A hinge connection comprising a pintle to be secured to one of the parts to be connected, and a hinge member and a separate locking member to be independently secured to the other part, said members having plate portions disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the pintle and extending on opposite sides thereof, each of said plate portions being provided at one end with a bearing portion engaging the pintle on the opposite side thereof from that on which the plate portion extends, said hinge member being provided with means for securing it to its appropriate part, and the locking member being independently secured to said part by a pivot extending transversely of the plate portion thereof, whereby the locking member can be swung laterally, longitudinally of the pintle, into and out of engagement there with.

4. A hinge connection comprising a pintle to be secured to one of the parts to be connected, and a hinge member and a separate locking member to be independently secured to the other part, said members having plate portions disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the pintle and extending on opposite sides thereof, each of said plate portions being provided at one end with a bearing portion engaging the pintle on the opposite side thereof from that on which the plate portion extends, said bearing portions of said members engaging the pintle at different points longitudinally thereof, and the bearing portion of the locking member engaging the pintle near the end, and a pivotal support for the locking member having its axis disposed perpendicularly to the plane of the plate portion thereof, whereby said locking member can be swung into engagement with and away from the end of the pintle.

5. In a hinge connection, the combination with apintle to be secured to one of the parts to be connected, and a hinge member and locking member to be secured to the other part, said members being provided each with a bearing portion for engaging the pintle on one side only, said hinge member being provided with a yielding retaining arm provided with locking recesses for engaging a locking stud on the side thereof corresponding to the side of the pintle engaged by the bearing portion of the hinge member, and means for movably supporting said locking member whereby it may be moved out of operative position, to permit the hinge member to disengage the pintle and the retaining arm to simultaneously disengage its locking stud by a movement of the part connected therewith in the same direction.

6. The combination with a movable panel and a support therefor, of a hinge connection comprising a pintle secured to said support, a hinge member secured to the panel and having a bearing portion extending not more than half way around the pintle, a locking member independently secured to the panel on the opposite side of the pmtle from the hinge member, and having a bearing portion for engaging the pintle on the side opposite the bearing portion of the hinge member, the securing means for sa1 d locking member being constructed to permit the bearing portion thereof to be moved longitudinally of the pintle out of engagement therewith, a locking stud secured to the said support, parallel to the pintle, and a yielding retaining arm secured to said panel and having locking portlons engaging said stud on the side thereof corresponding to the side of the pmtle engaged by the bearing portion of the hinge member, whereby on disengaging the locking member from the pintle, the panel may be moved in one direction to simultaneously disengage the hinge member from said pintle and the retaining arm from said stud.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures, in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK MERRILL TIBBOTT. ERIC LEMANDER. Witnesses:

H. B. BENSON, J. E. HAYES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

